On Saturday, a dog team left for the German town of Dernau in the Ahr Valley, where floods caused enormous devastation two weeks ago and claimed many lives. REDOG, the Swiss Association for Search and Rescue Dogs, said the team will search for missing persons in cooperation with German dog teams.
“It is important to be there and to support the relatives,” said Linda Hornisberger, head of the REDOG search team. The goal is to find the bodies of the victims so that their relatives can say goodbye to their loved ones, according to a REDOG statement.
Four dog handlers and their dogs, as well as two logistics specialists make up the Swiss contingent. They have been on standby since the beginning of the bad weather in Germany. The deployment of the Swiss team will last several days, according to spokesperson Dagmar Wurzbacher. Cadaver search dogs are used after natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides or building collapses.
REDOG is also the rescue organisation of the Red Cross and finances interventions from its own funds raised through the support of donors.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
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Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
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TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
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The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
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The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
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China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
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A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
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The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
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Rescue dogs team up with drones to save lives
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The drones will be equipped with night vision and thermal cameras to spot people in distress. The dog handlers and dogs will then be directed to the spot to rescue those in need. “We have already tested the dog-drone combination during our last three operations and we are now ready,” Romaine Kuonen, president of Redog,…
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Vali Meier skis off down the slope with canine colleague Woopy on his shoulders. Woopy is part of a long tradition of Swiss avalanche dogs.
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Dogs are also being trained this way in other countries. In Germany, tests have found that they can perform this task with a 94% success rate. This is because Covid-19 causes human body cells to change their odour. The Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) group has started its own trial programme, reports the Tages Anzeiger newspaperExternal link.…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.